The four golden rules of mobile device selection

Selecting a corporate mobile device standard can be risky. Mobile devices are far more personal than PCs, and users’ preferences are heavily influenced by their existing consumer experience and personal choices.

Imposing an IT-driven device standard increases the risk of the CIO being forced into defending the decision against disgruntled end users, some of whom may have considerable influence. To avoid this, follow the four golden rules of mobility and ensure mobile device selection has business buy-in.

IT organisations are under considerable pressure to deliver mobility solutions. This may be as simple as mobile email and calendaring for white collar workers or as complex as managing and optimising a field service workforce. In most cases, users of the mobility solution will already have high expectations based on their personal consumer device experience. In many organisations that IBRS has worked with, users have already implemented their own mobility solutions without the IT organisation’s involvement and a savvy CIO will look at how this existing, practical, usability experience can be harnessed.

In an effort to re-establish control over the end-point, some IT organisations are rushing to a corporate mobile device standard without following an appropriate selection process. While IT-driven standards worked well for the desktop, this approach creates a significant risk for the CIO if the device selection process does not include the practical experience and feedback from the business users who will be using these devices in the field. An IT-centric selection process may put the CIO in the position of defending a decision that is unpopular with end users, some of whom (board, executive, senior managers) have great influence and, often, strong opinions on mobile devices.

To avoid this risk, follow these four golden rules of mobility:

1. Use case dictates device: In mobility the device must be viewed as a ‘tool of trade’ and different roles may need different tools. The first step in a mobility strategy is to interview a broad range of real users to discover the generalised ‘use cases’ which are then used to define the IT architecture (applications, integration, management and devices). This takes 2-3 months, but is critical for success.

2. User experience is king!: Since the IT organisation is responsible for supporting, managing and securing the devices, it can fixate on these IT issues at the expense of the user experience. To create a solution that works well in the field, the IT organisation must be willing to subordinate its usual device considerations to the user experience. Create a short list of device criteria that are important for each use case. Select devices that optimise the user experience for the different use cases and roles based on these criteria, remembering the field users are more likely to know what is and isn’t important.

3. BYO is a safety valve: Whichever device is selected, and regardless of the processes, some individuals will be unhappy with the decision. The implementation of a BYO smartphone or tablet policy will act as a safety valve and minimise pushback on the decision. Do not mistake BYO device as a carte blanche licence to bring any device, hook it up to the internal network and access any application. Instead, establish a clear policy covering the ‘who, what and how’ of BYO devices. Create a BYO smartphone and tablet policy that allows some flexibility without overburdening the IT organisation or jeopardising security.

4. Inclusive, transparent and auditable: Since most users already have a consumer smartphone, and often extensive experience in that specific device, trying to impose an IT-driven standard will lead to significant pushback. To counter this, run a selection process that includes representatives from all business groups and create a formal recommendation that clearly shows how the decision was reached and why. Done appropriately, and in conjunction with BYO, this will limit the negative reaction to whichever device is selected. A model for the process is provided below.

IBRS device selection process

The selection process consists of the following steps.

When establishing the working group ensure there are representatives from the most influential business areas. Get these representatives to nominate who should be interviewed for the input stage. The output of the selection processes must be a formal, written recommendation for a mobile device, including all the information and data used to make this decision. This recommendation should be given to the IT Steering Committee for review and ratification.

Next steps:

Before selecting a device, ensure the mobility use cases have been identified from a broad set of interviews with real users.

1. Determine which business groups must be closely consulted on device selection and ask them to provide a representative for the selection workshop.

2. Formalise the process and ensure all parties know what the objectives are well before the meeting.

3. Clearly establish how the working group makes a decision (what is the voting process?).

4. Create a formal written recommendation that shows how the decision was made. Circulate this to the workshop member for adoption prior to sending to the IT steering committee for review and ratification.

*Dr Kevin McIsaac has over 20 years of IT experience and is a recognised expert in IT infrastructure, operations and vendor management. He has in-depth knowledge of server virtualisation, storage and virtual desktops. He has worked as an analyst for more than 11 years, and was the Research Director Asia-Pacific at META Group.